Pokemon: Phantom
by DiscordianSamba
Summary: AU. Returning from her overseas Pokemon journey, Champion Sam Manson finds herself quickly becoming the mentor to a rather bizarre Pokemon trainer who calls himself Phantom. Alongside her childhood friend, Tucker, they're roped into the strange trainer's journey, and eventually discover that he might just hold a connection to their missing friend, Danny Fenton and his parents.
1. Death and Rebirth

Author's Note: What's this? Two new fics in one day? Well, not entirely, this one has actually been rolling around for a few days. It was posted on tumblr first, and I sort of went back and forth about posting it on here. Anyways, I uh, kind of took Danny Phantom and placed it in the Pokemon verse. Not entirely a crossover I suppose, as much as it is an AU fusion.

Anyways, this is just a prologue! I think the actual story will be told a shorter, more episodic format than my normal fan fiction but I am not entirely sure just yet. We'll find out! At any rate, real chapters will be longer still than the prologue, that much is for sure.

Danny Phantom is not mine, and neither is Pokemon.

* * *

Pokemon: Phantom

Death and Rebirth

Summary: Every journey has to start somewhere. Sometimes it starts with a death and sometimes it starts with a birth. And on some rare occasions, it starts with both.

* * *

The last thing he could remember was the sound of a loud bang, and his father shouting for him to get down. There had been a flash of bright light, one that had consumed his entire field of vision and then-

what?

No matter how hard he tried, fourteen year old Danny Fenton couldn't remember what had happened after the flash. Groaning, he felt a deep throbbing in the back of his head, wondering if perhaps that could be the reason why. Had he hit his head, he wondered, reaching a shaky hand back there to check. It seemed sticky with blood, perhaps he was right on the mark- however, a glance at his hand revealed that it too was covered with blood, trickling down from a deep cut on his wrist.

Groaning, he felt his head fall back against the wall, realizing that he must have been thrown against it. The last place he remembered being was over by his father, in the middle of their lab- how had he even gotten here? His head hurt more every time he tried to remember, and forcing himself to open his eyes again, which were heavy, so very heavy, he looked around the lab, realizing that his parents were nowhere in sight.

Where were they? Where had they gone? Had something happened?

The lab itself was a wreck, his parents pride and joy, all in pieces. There was no trace of what they had been so proudly working on- ugh, his head hurt again. What had they been working on? Something important, something big, something that would change the way the world looked at not just ghost Pokemon, their speciality, but Pokemon all over the world.

He started to cough then, feeling as if he was hacking up his lungs, his whole body shaking as he did so. This was normal, he thought. He had been cursed with a weak body his entire life, coughing fits like this were normal, and it would pass.

But he normally didn't cough up blood with them.

That was when his eyes finally fell down towards his chest, brain finally able to comprehend the long piece of metal- some kind of piping?- that pierced through it. He could feel it now, every breath he took gave him a sharp pain, and dimly realized that his lungs must have been pierced.

Oh.

He was going to die, wasn't he?

It was strange how distant the realization seemed, perhaps he'd already accepted it on a subconscious level. He could already feel his body gradually start to accept the oncoming embrace- everywhere and everything hurt, and a further study of himself made Danny realize that he was almost caked in blood, most of which, he guessed was his own.

He was fourteen years old, and he was going to die.

Clenching and unclenching his fist, he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to try and summon up some resistance. He didn't... he didn't want this. He wanted to live! Maybe his life wasn't the most exciting, he had to spend most of his time cooped up in the house when he was being shuffled between doctors none of whom who could ever really figure out what was wrong with him other than that 'there was something wrong with his lungs'.

Even if he had to watch all the other kids in Casper Town go off on their Pokemon journeys, including Sam and Tucker, his best friends in the world. They kept in touch with him all the time, and they told him all about the world, but deep down he was always more than a little jealous of them.

He couldn't die here, he thought, he didn't want to die here. What had happened to the lab? To his parents? He didn't see hide nor hair of them anywhere- they were simply gone, vanished. What had caused this? Was it an accident? He didn't think it was an accident, no, deep in his bones, he knew that it wasn't.

Screaming for help wouldn't do him any good. He didn't even know if he had the voice to scream.

There was a faint rustling that met his ears then, and he perked up a little, blue eyes darting around the ruined lab. Was there someone else here? Someone else still alive? "H-hello?" He croaked out, and winced- he was right, he didn't have much of a voice. He could barely even hear himself. "Hello?" He repeated again, this time managing to sound a bit stronger.

The wispy, white form that floated towards him in response to his call was familiar to Danny. Although his parents had many different ghost Pokemon going in and out of their lab, he could recognize his parents' own Pokemon. "Marie!" Danny said, then had to bit back a wince, shifting a little, causing the pipe lodged in his chest to shift uncomfortably. Another glance towards the Froslass in front of him told him that something was wrong- his mother's Froslass, Marie, wasn't normally this dim. He could see right through her, and she seemed to be slowly fading away in front of him.

He- he wasn't going to be able to get help after all, was he? He thought, his eyes starting to tear up. Something was wrong with Marie, she was fading fast right in front of him. She was dying and he was going to die too.

He didn't want this.

Marie's form flickered in front of him, and she seemed to smile a little. He'd always liked Marie, she was a gentle Pokemon, and was always hovering around his mother. They had been together since his mother was a teenager, Danny dimly recalled, they had been partners when she first set out on her own Pokemon journey, back when she was still a little Snorunt. At least if he was going to die, he thought, he wouldn't be alone. That was okay, right? It was better than dying all by himself.

_You won't die._

Danny's eyes snapped open- he hadn't even remembered closing them- searching for the source of the voice. Was he just hearing things now that he was surely on the brink of death?

Marie's form flickered in front of him still, and the ghost Pokemon slowly shook her head. _No. I can save you, Danny._

"You can talk...?" Danny croaked out, his vision blurring a little as he tried to focus on the Froslass.

_I am about to die. The rules are a bit different at the moment. _Marie seemed to be saying, and Danny could hear her voice floating about in his head, soft, gentle, reassuring, like his mother in a number of ways. _I can save you._

"How?" Danny asked. Anything was better than dying at this point, he thought.

_Make a Pact. _Marie said. _If I give you what's left of my essence, you will live. _Her form flickered then, and she seemed to frown. _But you will change, and you will not be able to go back to normal ever again. You will remain human... for the most part. But I cannot say much more as to what will happen to you after that._

"What would happen to you?" Danny asked. He would change, but he would live? He could live, he could find out what happened here, he could find out what happened to his parents... Changes, he could deal with changes. Right?

_I'll vanish. _Marie said simply. _I am going to vanish anyways. Maddie was my greatest friend for a very long time, and I want to help her. She's in danger, your mother is in grave danger, and your father is too. I want to help her, and this is the only way I know how. Will you accept?_

"At this point, I don't have much of a choice." Danny said weakly, trying to give the ghost Pokemon a small smile. "I really don't want to die, Marie. Can you really save me?"

_Yes. _Marie said, and her form flickered once more. _I __**will **__save you._

There was resolution in her voice, and Danny couldn't bring himself to find anything but faith in her. With a small smile, worried that his voice would fail him, he gave a small nod.

And then the world went white again.

* * *

He woke up with a sharp gasp, his eyes going wide as he almost jumped into awareness. Groaning a little, Danny shook his head, realizing that the throbbing in it had vanished. Had that all just been a dream?

No.

He knew it hadn't.

It wasn't just looking at the lab, still left in ruins, that told him that, but rather, a quick glance down at his own body. In his sharp jerk forward, he seemed to have freed himself from the pipe that had thrust through his chest, and at a glance back towards the wall he had been pinned against, he realized that it had struck through all the way into it, keeping him trapped there. He had just... passed through it, as if it were nothing.

Was he dead?

No.

He didn't think so- not quite, at least.

The first thing that he noticed was that he was floating, though, which Danny had to admit- was a bit cool. Glancing down at his hands, he recalled that he had been wearing one of his parent's hazmat suits- white and black, when he had come down to the lab- better safe than sorry, especially with his health, they had said. The gloves on his hands were now white though, not black, and it seemed that the top part of his Hazmat had inverted too.

"And then there's this." He mumbled, picking lightly at the fabric that hung from his- was this still a belt, he wondered, reaching up to pick at the material, deciding that no, it wasn't. Vaguely, he realized what it looked like, the way that Froslass almost seemed to be wearing clothes. Some kind of Japanese style? Frowning a little, he found himself instinctively checking the back for the bow, and sighed, finding that it wasn't there.

Oh, he was breathing, the sigh made him notice. So, not dead. That was good news.

Right! He suddenly remembered his parents, and Marie's warning. Eyes darting around, he looked for any sign, any trace of them or the intruder that had caused them. Before he knew it, he found himself floating around the lab as if it were the most natural thing in the world- his body felt so light!- and checked every nook and cranny. There was no hide nor hair of them, nor any signs of blood, other than where he had been. He cringed a little, glancing towards the site, realizing that he had lost a fair amount of it.

And that was when he caught sight of it. One of the labs mirrors caught his eye, and he quickly found himself transfixed on it, floating over towards it. He knew that there would be changes, that Marie said there would be- he was smart enough to realize that he had most likely become something not quite human now. But he had to admit, he was quite ready for this.

It was his hair that caught his attention first- snow white, instead of his normal black. Running a hand through it, he frowned, pausing to stop as he bumped against the frozen... horns, he supposed. They weren't very large, more like horn nubs than anything else, and they seemed to be made of pure ice, cold to the touch- although dimly, he suspected his own body temperature had lowered as well.

From there it was his eyes, a bright blue, much brighter than his normal color. But that wasn't the only thing, his sclera were now yellow- Froslass eyes, he thought, frowning a little.

"Well." Danny said, a little startled when his voice echoed a little. "I did say I was ready for anything." He mused, glancing himself over. "I guess this sure is _something _alright. Ugh, I'll attract way too much attention like this." He mumbled. As if in response to his concerns, he found his body lowering to the ground, his feet finally meeting the floor. So floating was not his default form of movement, it seemed.

Frowning, he poked at the ice horns again, wondering what he was going to do about these. He would need to hide them, he thought, there were plenty of trainers who dressed up like Pokemon, but these were... a bit hard to explain. Almost as if in response to his worries, again, he felt something change, the trailing material of his sleeves vanishing and reforming around him, seeming to instead form a black vest, and he blinked a little, reaching up behind him, pulling up the hood a bit, grinning a little.

"Okay then, if I can do that..." He said, glancing down towards the lower half of his outfit- with a sigh of relief, the material of the furisode vanished, leaving behind the rest of his hazmat suit.

"That's better." He grinned a little, finding himself a bit happy in spite of himself. He paused then, casting a glance back towards the ruined lab, feeling his heart tighten a little.

His parents. That was right.

He needed to find his parents.

Marie had said that they were in danger, and that she wanted to help- that was her dying wish. And Danny couldn't sit still with the idea that his parents were in trouble either. It was more than just not wanting to die that made him accept the Froslass' offer- it was because he wanted to do something about this situation as well.

And maybe offer some payback to the bastard that nearly killed him as well.


	2. How to Pick up an Unexpected Party Membe

Author's Note: The very first chapter, it is here! I hope you all enjoy this one as much as you seemed to like the prologue. 13 reviews, not bad you guys, I'm glad that there's so much interest for this story, both on here and on tumblr! You might want to keep tabs on the _Pokemon: Phantom_ tag on my blog (my username is **Bekuki**!) because any art I get or make myself will be posted there, along with supplemental information.

Neither Danny Phantom nor Pokemon belong to me. See y'all next update!

* * *

Pokemon: Phantom

Episode One: How to Pick up an Unexpected Party Member

* * *

Ducking underneath the yellow tape that warned her to keep out, Samantha Manson's eyes narrowed as they looked about the lab. The Pokemon research lab that she once recalled so well from her memories was in ruins, it didn't look like even a single piece of machinery had made it out of whatever happened here unscathed. The place was a mess, and no effort had been made to clean it up, as the investigation was still ongoing.

And it had been ongoing for a _year _now.

It must have happened when she was engaged in intensive training to face the Elite Four of the distant Unova region when this happened. When she had finally finished her training, and had defeated the Champion, she was left with what might have been thousands of urgent phone calls on from both Jazz and Tucker, as well as her parents, all of them trying to inform her that something had happened back in Casper Town, and that her best friend, and his parents had vanished, seemingly into thin air.

She had rushed back as soon as she could, only to learn that the news was five months old at this point- she had been away from the real world, training for a long time. Then again, considering that the police task force that had been set on this matter- Jack and Maddie Fenton were well known ghost Pokemon researchers, after all- had come up with nothing, she doubted that her presence here would have changed much.

Jazz was the one who had fretfully told her that they had found blood in the ruins, although that was gone now. There was so much of it that getting a sample of it wasn't hard at all- it had been correctly identified as belonging to Daniel Fenton, Jazz's younger brother, and her own best friend. After losing that much blood, the police were doubtful about his chances of survival, but Jazz wasn't willing to pronounce him dead just yet.

She didn't want to lose hope, and neither did Sam.

Sam had spent the past five months in Casper Town, taking a job at the local Trainer's School while she waited for news. But when the investigation turned up dead in the water, she decided that she was going to take the matter into her own hands. Somebody had to do something, and the police had very clearly tried- but that wasn't good enough for her. She wanted answers, she wanted to know what had happened to her best friend, and to her parents. After all, to her, Danny was more than a best friend, although she had never told him that- she herself didn't really even realize it until she left on her Pokemon journey, when she had began to realize that despite all of the fun she was having, _something_ was missing from her life.

That something was Danny.

He had always been a sickly child- there was something wrong with his lungs, that's what the doctors had always said, although they could never ben more specific about it. He wasn't really able to leave his house, save for making short trips to the store, and spent most of his time confined to his bed. It was a lonely, boring life for him, and it was one that Sam wanted to spice up a little, bringing with her exciting stories and letting him meet the Pokemon that she had caught in the wild grass around Casper Town. He was always so excited to see her and Tucker, and she had almost stayed here when the chance for her to take her journey came.

But he had told her to go, and she knew it would upset him if she stayed behind just because of him. So she had left.

"You know, technically you're not supposed to be in here."

"I don't think anyone's going to get mad at me Tucker." Sam said, turning back around to look at him. "I think they've found just about all they're going to find here after all. I just needed to take another long look at it before we set out." She told him, smiling a little. "I just want to burn it into my mind so I can remember it when it comes time to deal with the person responsible for all this."

"That is, if we find them." Tucker arched a brow, looking over towards his friend. She was dressed in an outfit he hadn't seen her wear since she had returned to Casper Town the first time, and he knew it was her trainer's outfit- clearly she was serious about this. "I want to get the bottom of this too, Sam, but what makes you think that we'll be able to root out someone that even the police can't manage to? For all we know, all of this might be the result of a freak accident. The Fentons did say that they were working on something hush hush before they all vanished, remember?"

"That only makes it all the more suspicious." Sam frowned, stepping back underneath the police caution tape. "Besides, I won't be satisfied until I know the truth, one way or another. There must be someone out there who knows what happened here that day, and I intend to find them. And if necessary, beat the truth out of them."

"Always with the violence, aren't you?" Tucker heaved a sigh, adjusting his red beret on his head. "Well, I'm coming with you, so I guess I can't really talk. I want to know the truth to, especially the truth about what happened to Danny." He said, and his eyes drifted over towards where Sam knew that his blood had been found. She refused to look there herself, it not being something that she wanted to recall.

"He's alive." Sam said firmly. "I know he is."

"I wish I could be that optimistic." Tucker frowned, scratching the back of his head. "But I'm not just ready to give up on him just yet. You should just... remember to be prepared for the worst too you know Sam. It could help." He told her.

"I know." Sam nodded her head, patting him on the shoulder, giving him a smile. "You're just trying to look out for me. Thanks, Tucker. You're a good friend."

"Yeah, yeah, save it for the after school special." Tucker smirked. "Are we done here, or are we going to head out? Because I'm itching to get going. I gave up my precious research time to come with you, after all. As much as I love my home region, it's not exactly a hot bed of artificial Pokemon research."

"Tucker, all you ever did was sit for months in caves watching Klinks." Sam pointed out, quirking a brow. "I'm not sure that qualifies as research."

"Duh, it was an observational study of their living habits and behavior." Tucker rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "You just don't understand, Miss Trainer. All you care about is battling your Pokemon. I prefer to obtain a deeper understanding of them."

"I can get that _while _battling with them." Sam pointed out, heading back upstairs, towards the Fenton's living room. The place was more or less abandoned since they had vanished, as Jazz, the only surviving Fenton family member, hadn't lived here for at least two years before, and hadn't been in much of a hurry to move back in once everything had happened. She stayed mostly in her Pokemon lab in Dragsholm City, where she studied the psychology of Pokemon.

"Did you even know where to start?" Tucker asked, following behind her. "Or are we just going to wander aimlessly, talking to people in hopes that we'll find clues. You know real life doesn't work like video game quests."

"I have an idea." Sam said. "I heard a rumor, from a rather reliable source, of a certain trainer who could be of use to us." She told him, a triumphant smirk on her face. "They say they can speak to ghost Pokemon, and it's possible that they would have some idea where Jack and Maddie went to."

"_Talk_ to Pokemon?" Tucker snorted, shaking his head. "I don't think that sort of thing is even possible. I mean, yeah, understanding their feelings and all that I get, but actually talk to them? And you believe this?" He asked, quirking a brow.

"I have no reason to doubt my sources." Sam shrugged her shoulders, heading outside of Fenton Works. Once Tucker followed after her, she closed the door, locking it up, and stored the key away in her black bag, slung over one shoulder. "A pale, white haired kid, maybe a year younger than us, with a fondness for hoodies. They don't sound that hard to find, I don't think there's a whole lot of kids our age with white hair out there. Maybe we'll run into them before we even know it."

"Boy or a girl?" Tucker asked, noticing that Sam hadn't once mentioned the gender of this trainer.

"Nobody seems to be sure." Sam shrugged her shoulders. "Although they say sometimes they dress like a Froslass."

"Oh, one of _those _trainers." Tucker rolled his eyes. "I think you're barking up the wrong tree myself, Sam, but I guess we have to start somewhere with this search. I don't want to give up before we've even done anything at least."

"That's the spirit, Tucker!" She said, hopping down the stairs, grinning at him once she got to the bottom. "Besides, it's been a long time since I last traveled with you- before I left for the Unova region. It'll be nice to have a chance to catch up with each other. Besides, to be honest, I'm itching to get out of here. I'm not good with just staying in one place for very long, unless I'm training."

"Yeah, you did seem like you were starting to go a little stir crazy." Tucker noted, walking down the steps behind her. He paused, once, to take a look back at Fenton Works, before turning back to his friend, grinning at her. "Well then. Elmer Town's not exactly going to just sit there and wait for us, now is it?"

"That it won't." Sam agreed. "Come on, I want to make it there by sundown tomorrow. We've got a fair amount of walking ahead of us though, are you sure you can catch up?" She asked, sending her friend a sly look.

"Hey, I'm not nearly as weak as I look." Tucker protested. "I can keep up with you just fine- just watch me!"

* * *

"Sam, Sam _wait_." Tucker panted, leaning against a tree, taking in and letting out deep breaths as sweat poured down his cheeks. "I don't think I can move another step. You walk... you walk so fast. When did you start walking this fast?"

"Why Tucker, I thought you said that you could keep up with me!" Sam grinned, clearly not the least bit winded, turning around to look at her friend. She wasn't even sweating, or breathing hard, Tucker noted with frustration. How did she do it? Ever since he could remember, Sam had been the most physically fit out of all of them, and it wasn't like he had Danny's excuse of being chronically ill to use for his own lack of fitness.

"I mean, we've only walked for about an hour!" Sam said, unable to keep the mischievous smirk off of her face. "We haven't even gotten very far. I've even been walking slower than I usually do, just so you could keep up with me!"

"Yeah, yeah, just rub it in, why don't you." Tucker glared at her, before collapsing in a heap against the tree. "I need to take a break."

"Honestly Tucker, how did you ever get anywhere with that kind of attitude?" Sam huffed, crossing her arms, tapping her foot impatiently. "Your endurance is for the dogs."

"I used a bike." Tucker told her, arching an eyebrow. "But since you were so insistent on not bringing them, I left mine at home. Why can't we use bikes again anyways? Wouldn't it get us to places faster?"

"And they would be a huge problem to take with us in places that we couldn't use them." Sam told him. "It's dangerous to bike in caves and the like, after all. We're much better off on foot. After all, who knows where this journey will take us? It's best to be prepared for anything."

"I had nearly forgotten why I split up with you in the first place." Tucker groaned, slamming his head lightly against the tree. "You're one of my best friends in the whole world Sam, but I swear, you are the worst traveling companion."

"You just say that because you're weak." Sam shrugged her shoulders. "But don't worry Tucker. We'll have plenty of time together on this journey, and I plan to whip you right into shape! You'll be in tip top condition before you know it!"

"That's what I was afraid of." The boy heaved a sigh. "Just give me five minutes, okay? Then I'll be ready to trudge along again."

"Fair enough." Sam shrugged her shoulders. "But we can't keep stopping for breaks every hour, Tucker. We'll never make good time that way." She pointed out. "And my sources last place the trainer we're trying to find in Elmer Town. I'd like to try and catch up with them before they move on. I don't exactly want to chase them all over the Amity region."

"Yeah, yeah." Tucker waved a hand, taking off his beret and waving it in his face, trying to get a bit of air. He clearly wasn't listening to a word she was saying at this point, so Sam simply shrugged her shoulders, wandering off a bit.

At least the five minute break would let her deal with something that had been bothering her ever since they had left. She had doubted that Tucker had noticed it- unless it was something that he was interested in, her friend wasn't the most observational of sorts. But she knew what this feeling was- someone had been following them, and had been following them almost since they had left Casper Town. They didn't feel like a malicious presence, at least, but she didn't like the idea of being stalked across their route to Elmer Town.

They were watching even now, probably unaware of the fact that she had caught on to them being there. But she could roll with this- she grinned a little, taking out one of her Pokeballs, tossing it up and down in her hand a little, before firmly catching it. "Well, at least a five minute break will give me a chance to have a short battle." She said aloud.

"Alright Judith, let's go!" Sam grinned, releasing the Pokeball, and in a flash of light, a Liepard appeared before her. It let out a cry, before stretching out it's body, wandering over towards it's trainer and rubbing up against her. "Ah, there's my girl." Sam said, reaching down to scratch it behind the ears. She could tell from the hint of wariness that she held in her posture that someone was watching them, but she wasn't going to act on it until her trainer gave her orders.

"You know, if you don't come out, I'll have Judith over here come and get you!" Sam called out, placing a hand on the Liepard's head, gaze turning in the direction of the eyes watching her. "And I'll have you know she was with me when I defeated Unova's Elite Four, so I would advise you not to sneeze at her."

There was a stirring then, in the bushes, and a figure rose up out of them, holding their hands up. "_Yesh_." A male voice spoke up, although there was the strangest hint of distortion to it- almost an echo, Sam thought. "No need for violence. I don't exactly mean you any harm." He told her, heading out of the bushes, still with his hands raised- or at least, she thought this was a boy, given his voice. Behind him, a Froslass floated, casting a glower towards Judith, not looking pleased that her trainer was being threatened.

"Well now, isn't this a fine turn of events?" Sam couldn't help but note as she looked over the person that had emerged from the bushes. She couldn't make out his face, as it was covered by the hood of his jacket, but white hair seemed to poke out from underneath the black hood of his otherwise white jacket. He seemed to be wearing some kind of hazmat suit underneath it, with a white belt and white boots, though his suit was trimmed with a pale blue in some places, it was otherwise black. "And here we were, looking for you. Are you the trainer who people say can speak to ghost Pokemon?"

"That's me." He grinned a little, lowering his hands. "You'll have to forgive me, I heard rumors that there was someone in Casper Town looking for me, and I just wanted to get a good fix on you two before I showed myself. I didn't mean to spook you." He said.

"Oh, trust me, you didn't spook me." Sam laughed. "We're looking for information on the year old disappearance of Jack, Maddie, and Danny Fenton. Maybe you heard about it?" She asked.

"I have." The white haired boy said simply, tucking his hands into his pockets. "They're the couple that researched ghost Pokemon, right? All the ghosts around here know about them to some degree." He shrugged his shoulders. "What about them, though?"

"We're trying to find them, and their son." Sam told him. "We were hoping that your ghost speaking abilities, if they are real, could be of some use to us. Granted, I didn't expect to find you so soon. You got a name I could use? My source wasn't exactly forthcoming in that matter."

"I go by Phantom." He told her. "This is Aria." He motioned towards the Froslass in question, who gave the girl a small bow, which Sam found herself returning, almost out of habit.

"Phantom?" Sam couldn't help but snicker. "Cute nickname. Very original."

"Nobody asked for your input." Phantom grumbled, approaching her more freely now that Judith seemed to have settled down- she still seemed a bit on edge though, as if she wasn't entirely willing to drop her guard around this stranger- and that struck Sam as odd. Normally, Judith was very friendly. "I'm afraid there's not all that much I can tell you about Jack or Maddie, or their son."

And he sure wasn't going to tell Sam that their son was standing right in front of her. She didn't even recognize him! Sure, she couldn't see his face, but recalling how much it had changed since they had last met, he doubted that would do much good. Even his voice didn't seem familiar to her, and he almost wanted to kick the ground in frustration. But he had also promise himself that if they didn't recognize him, then he wouldn't be giving himself away.

Besides, it was probably better all around for them to not know that he had turned into _this_. The Danny Fenton they had in their memories was better than the Phantom that was before her now.

"That's a shame." Sam frowned a little, heaving a sigh. She had been worried about as much.

"Ah, ah, but that's just about the Fentons." Phantom held up a finger, a smirk appearing on his face. "I do, however, have some information for you that could be worth your while. But you see, I also have my own reasons for wanting to find Jack and Maddie." He told her, deciding to take a small gamble. He knew that whatever his parents were mixed up in was dangerous, and he didn't want Sam, however, competent a trainer he knew she was, and Tucker, who was far less competent, running around while being unaware of this. He wanted to travel with them, as dangerous as it was to his own secrets.

"Alright, I'll bite." Sam said. "What reasons would those be? Are they related to your ability to speak to ghost Pokemon?" She asked. That seemed reasonable enough. The Fentons were experts in their field, if this boy had a strange power like that, he might want some answers about it- and who better to turn to than the Fentons?

"Sort of." Phantom told her, reaching for his hood. He took in and let out a deep breath before he did so, bracing himself a little. Even if she didn't know it was him, he hoped at least Sam wouldn't freak out too much because of his appearance. "It has a lot more to do with this." He said, lowering his hood.

Sam had seen many strange things in her travels, but nothing had quite prepared her for this. Sure, there were plenty of trainers who dressed up as Pokemon, usually fanatics of some kind, and she had more or less pegged Phantom as being the same type. The white hair she was prepared for- but what she wasn't prepared for was anything _else_. The sclera of this boys eyes were yellow, instead of white as they should be, and his eyes themselves were a bright, glowing blue, with a pupil not _quite_ the right shape for a human eye.

And then there were the horns, which took a moment for her to realize that they were real, and not some sort of headband. They seemed to be formed from pure ice, a little nub on either side of his head, just above his ears. They matched the horns on his Froslass companion exactly- and so did his _eyes _for that matter.

"You're-" Sam began, but quickly shut her mouth as she realized that she actually had no idea what this boy was supposed to be. Or at the very least, she assumed it was a boy. It was next to impossible to tell from his body alone, but his voice seemed rather distinctly male, so it had been what she was going with.

"Who knows what I am?" Phantom shrugged his shoulder, tugging up his hood again. "But I think you can gather why I want to see Jack and Maddie. If anyone can find the answers, it's them." He lied- he had no intention of seeing his parents again once he found them, not while he was still like this. And he figured that he would be like this for the rest of his life- he had gone down a one way street, and the way back to humanity was blocked off from him.

"I don't remember anything about myself." He lied again. This was the story he had been planning on feeding them- he and Aria had worked together to make it. Simple, they had decided, was the best. "I just woke up one day, and was like this. I don't recall anything from before that time. I was hoping that the Fentons could provide me with some answers, or perhaps some clue to my identity. Their disappearance is a problem for me, because I don't exactly trust any of the other researchers you see, not to lock me up like some kind of lab rat and never let me leave."

"I see." Sam took a deep breath, slowly nodding her head. Well that was shocking- but she didn't want this Phantom to feel as if she thought he was a freak, or anything. "I can understand that, then. Alright now, I understand your reasons for wanting to find the Fenton couple- but exactly what is this piece of information that you do know?"

"I'll tell you, but only on one condition." Phantom said, holding up a finger.

"What, not to tell anyone what you're hiding under there?" Sam asked, shrugging her shoulders. "Deal."

"Oh no, not that. That I expect you to do anyways, otherwise I wouldn't have shown you in the first place." He grinned. "You see, I'm not a very good trainer." He admitted after a moment, his hand raising up to the back of his neck as he gave it a nervous rub. "Pretty terrible, actually. Just ask Aria." He said, and in response, his Froslass nodded her head, seeming to agree with him.

"Un-huh." Sam nodded her head, having a feeling where this was going. "And?" She asked.

"Take me along with you." Phantom told her. "You're going to have to go through all of the Pokemon gyms and the Elite Four anyways. It's the Champion that's rumored to have information about the Fentons. You know, the elusive Vlad Masters, he who never leaves the Champion's room?" He asked. "Granted, I don't know what kind of information he holds, but the Pokemon I've talked to seem to think it's quite a good lead. And you know you can't get to the Champion's room unless you beat the gym leaders and the Elite Four."

"I could do that easy." Sam shrugged her shoulders.

"I was hoping you could teach me how to beat them." Phantom laughed a little, and she could have sworn that she saw him blush, a faint- was that light blue?- color rising to his cheeks. "I tried Ember's gym in Borley City before, but I got creamed pretty quickly. And I heard that you're a Champion of the Unova region so you know, I thought you would make a pretty good teacher." He said.

Sam frowned, thinking this over. This boy did have reasons for wanting to find the Fentons all of his own, and they seemed no less important than her own reasons. He wanted to solve the mystery behind himself, and not knowing who or what he was must have been terrifying. Honestly, she didn't really have it in here to say no. And while it was true that she was confident in her abilities to breeze right through the Amity Pokemon League, in order to get to Vlad Masters and his rumored information, she also didn't think that this would be a bad bargain.

Phantom's ability to speak with ghost Pokemon had gotten him that piece of information, after all, and having him by her side could prove useful in the future. "Alright." Sam said after a moment, nodding her head. "Fine. I'll do it." She told him, holding out her hand for him to take.

Phantom took her hand, giving it a firm shake, and Sam couldn't help but shudder a little, realizing that he was ice cold to the touch. He felt more like a block of ice than a living person. "Ah, sorry." He apologized. "I'm really cold, I should have warned you about that ahead of time."

"Part of your nature?" Sam asked, frowning a little as she took her hand back, still feeling the chill on it.

"You could say that." Phantom shrugged his shoulders. "I'm full of interesting things."

"That much I can already tell." Sam noted, smiling a little. Recalling Judith, she pet her Liepard's head a bit more, before she summoned her back into her Pokeball. "Just one question though- how are you with walking?"

"Cheater class." Phantom said, unable to help but grin, as he floated off the ground. "You won't hear me complaining about sore feet at least." At her stunned expression, he spread his arms apart, shrugging his shoulders. "Like I said, I'm a real interesting person. By the way, I never did get your name."

"It's... Sam." She said after a moment, watching as Phantom floated back down towards the ground, landing on his feet, as if for all the world it was natural for a person to fly. "Sam Manson. Oh, that's right!" She said suddenly, her eyes going wide. She was going to have to introduce this person to Tucker, wasn't she?

"And then there's my friend Tucker, Tucker Foley." She said, glancing back in the direction that she had left him. He probably hadn't even noticed that five minutes had passed by now. "We still need to introduce you to Tucker." She said, taking his hand again, without even thinking about it, as if this was the most natural thing in the world for her to do. "Come on! I'm sure he'd love to meet you, Phantom."

Phantom didn't really hear her, instead his eyes fixed on her hand, a small smile dancing across his lips. She had taken his hand!

After all, it wasn't just Sam who had discovered that she had feelings for someone while they were separated by her journey. He too, had realized this. Deep down, he had always wanted to travel with her, and not be bound to his bed, due to his own poor health.

And one way or another, he'd finally been given the chance to do this. It was a bittersweet way to grant his wish to be sure- but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to take it for all that it was worth.


	3. The Boy Who Was a Ghost

Author's Note: And here is chapter two for all you patient children! And since I forgot to mention this last time, the little image I'm using for the chapter cover was drawn for me by my friend Zoey, she's awesome. So delays and all, I hope you enjoy the next chapter! I know I enjoyed writing certain parts of it, ohoho.

Danny Phantom and Pokemon do not belong to me.

* * *

Pokemon: Phantom  
Chapter Two: The Boy Who Was a Ghost

* * *

Tucker was still nursing his aching feet when Sam finally made her way back to where she had left him, quirking an eyebrow at her. "I'm pretty sure that was way more than five minutes, Sam. Weren't you the one eager to get a move on?" He frowned a little, before noticing that there was someone trailing behind her, and got to his feet, trying to get a better view. "I thought you were going to go battle Pokemon, not pick up chicks."

Before Sam could open her mouth to protest that Phantom was not a chick, Tucker approached the white haired boy, which he had clearly decided was a girl. "Hey there! I'm Tucker Foley!" He introduced himself, grinning real wide. "I didn't expect to see a pretty girl wandering around out here! What's your name, miss?"

Phantom cringed, resisting the urge to strangle his old friend. He knew that Tucker had something of a reputation as a flirt, but really? He didn't look _that _much like a girl, did he? The fact that he could hear Aria snickering faintly in his ear really didn't help matters much. But rather than just tell Tucker this the easy way, a hint of mischievous grin appeared on Phantom's face, as he leaned in a bit closer to Tucker, clearly getting the boy's hopes up, before he whispered in his ear. "I'm a guy."

Tucker's eyes went wide, and he couldn't jump back fast enough, his face turning bright red when confronted with this new information. "You're a dude!?"

"Guilty as charged." Phantom grinned, holding up his hands. "Don't get all riled up, you're the one who decided to try and hit on me. Not interested, by the way, in case you were still wondering."

"Tucker, this is Phantom, who I was about to introduce you to before you opened your mouth." Sam told him, unable to help but look a little amused. "In other words, he's the trainer we actually set out to look for. Apparently, he had heard that we were looking for him, and decided to seek us out in turn." She explained to him. "He's going to be joining us for awhile."

"O-oh." Tucker stammered, coughing into his hand, trying to get the red on his face to fade away. He could have sworn that he was a she, though! But that voice was _definitely _a dude's, there was no mistake about that. "Well, how about that! That makes our job a whole lot easier. Sam, did you already ask him about the Fentons?" Tucker asked, glancing over towards her, then frowned a little. "Wait, did you say joining us? Why?"

"He made me an offer in exchange for some information. Turns out that apparently, the rumor going around amongst the ghost Pokemon is that Vlad Masters knows something about the reason why the Fentons vanished." Sam rolled her eyes then. "And you know how elusive Vlad Masters is, after all. He barely ever leaves his Champion's room, it's like he has something to hide."

"Sam here agreed to help teach me how to be a better Pokemon trainer." Phantom told him. "After all, if you want to meet Vlad Masters, then you kind of have to go and fight all of the gym leaders and then get past the Elite Four."

"But Sam here could do that _easy_." Tucker protested, looking over towards his friend. Somehow this guy gave him kind of a weird vibe, and not just because he had trouble telling what gender Phantom was. "She beat the Champion in the Unova region, after all. She's nothing to sneeze at."

"But in order to have another go at a Champion title, I would have to register a different team." Sam told him. "Besides, sweeping the low level gym leaders doesn't exactly sound very fun, and it's not like we even know if it's true or not that Master does know something. We're better off keeping our eyes and ears open, and looking for clues, and we can do that better by moving around the region."

"You sound like you don't want me to join you." Phantom frowned a little, looking over towards Tucker. He had to admit, even though his friend had no idea who he was, that sort of hurt. "I don't bite. I've got my own reasons for needing to find the Fentons anyways." He lied again. "I thought it would be faster if we used the brainpower of three people, rather than just me. I've been looking for them for a year now with no clue, after all."

"Well, I guess." Tucker frowned a little, eying Phantom warily. "Is it true that you can talk to ghost Pokemon?" He asked him.

"Yeah." Phantom nodded his head. "Among other things. Ice Pokemon too. I can sort of understand the feelings of other types of Pokemon too, to a degree, but I can't really get concrete thoughts from them." He explained.

"Phantom has an issue that he would like the Fentons to take a look at." Sam said, frowning a little. She didn't want to just tell Tucker what lay underneath the boy's hood- or that he could float, she thought it wouldn't be right. "Um, I didn't know if you wanted to share with Tucker too, Phantom." She said after a moment.

"No, I'll share." Phantom shrugged his shoulders, although Sam could have swore she caught the hint of a devilish grin on his face. "You see, Tucker, the thing about me is," he began- and then with those words, he vanished totally from sight, causing both of them to yelp.

"Where did he go!?" Tucker asked, looking over towards Sam, his eyes wide. The girl simply shook her head, unable to answer that. Could he turn invisible as well? Suddenly recalling that hint of a smirk she had seen on his face, she realized what that could mean. However, before she could open her mouth to issue a warning, Phantom popped back into visibility right behind Tucker, floating behind the boy as if he were lounging behind his head.

"Boo." Phantom said simply, and that was enough to make Tucker all but jump out of his skin, spinning around so fast that he ended up falling on his rear end. His eyes were wide as dinner plates, and he scooted away from the floating Phantom as fast as he could. A mock look of offense crossed his face, and he shrugged his shoulders, laughing a bit. "Relax. It was just a little scare. It's not like I'm going to try and eat you or anything. Or I guess, freeze you would be more appropriate, in my case."

"What the hell are you?" Tucker sputtered, surprised that he was even able to find his voice.

"That _wasn't_ funny, Phantom." Sam glowered at the white haired boy, who floated back down to his feet, frowning a little as he pulled down his hood. "You nearly scared him half to death. You're making me reconsider my earlier offer, you know. I'm pretty sure that we could manage just fine without you." She pointed out.

"It was funny to me." Phantom said, seeming a little hurt that she was calling him out on this. "It's in my nature anyways. As for your question... Tucker, was it?" He asked, glancing towards the frightened boy. "Well, I don't know exactly." He half lied- to be honest, he still wasn't entirely sure as to what he actually was. Some kind of human-ghost Pokemon mix, he thought was the best way to explain it. "Which is why I need to find the Fentons. I thought they could tell me something. About what I am, maybe who I am. That sort of thing."

Tucker's mouth gaped open a bit as the hood came down, taking note of Phantom's eyes and his horns, no doubt. Sam reached down, helping her friend get to his feet, not letting him go until she was quite sure that he was on steady footing. "Okay, this is too weird." He said after a moment, glancing towards Sam as he dropped his voice. "Again, are you sure this is a good idea? Because that? _That _is not normal,_ at all_."

"I'm starting to second guess it myself." Sam frowned, shooting Phantom a look, who in return, awkwardly looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. He honestly seemed to think it was just a harmless little prank, and Sam didn't get the impression that there was any true malicious intent behind it, and yet...

"Oh come on Sam." Phantom whined, looking disappointed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause your friend to have a heart attack." He said, clasping his hands together. "Please take me with you? You're my only hope. And I want to find the Fentons just as much as the two of you do." He paused, looking at them with a small frown. "Why do the two of you want to find the Fentons anyways?" He asked.

He _knew_, of course, but it would seem weird to them if he knew their intentions.

It was Tucker who spoke up first, much to Sam's surprise, although he was still glowering at the boy a little bit. He did have to admit though, not knowing _what _you were or apparently _who _you were did sound vaguely terrifying, so he didn't have it in his heart to be too mad at him. "We're looking for our friend, mostly, Danny. He vanished with them too. I don't suppose you've heard anything about him?" He asked.

"No." Phantom lied. "Not a thing. Sorry, I wish I could help." He said, shaking his head. "Hopefully he and his parents are just fine though. Can't imagine what it would be like to have a close friend going missing, though, at least, I assume he's a close friend if the two of you are going through the effort of searching for him."

"We're worried." Sam said after a moment, chewing on her lip, as if debating telling this strange boy this. "Danny's always been weak, ever since he was little. And there was a lot of blood on the scene too... blood that was supposed to belong to him. Tucker and I can't help but be worried that maybe something awful has happened to him. So we're searching for him, in earnest hopes that we find him safe and sound."

"I see." Phantom said, floating into the air a bit, tucking his hands into his hoodie's pockets. "Well, that does sound like something that would worry a person, I guess. I wouldn't know." He told them. "Don't really remember if I have any friends or not."

"You really don't remember anything?" Sam asked.

"Not a single thing." Phantom lied, shaking his head. "Just woke up one day and I couldn't remember a thing. Been wandering around looking for answers ever since then. I guess it's not all that bad though, I mean, having a bunch of neat powers _is _pretty cool." He grinned from ear to ear, vanishing and then reappearing closer to them, once again causing Tucker to jump slightly. "Still, knowing things about myself would be pretty nice. Like, if I have a family or something like that." He said, gaze trailing over towards Sam.

Oh, you better believe he was playing the sympathy card at her, and if Sam was anything like he remembered her, she would take it, hook, line, and sinker.

"That must be rough." Sam admitted after a moment, frowning a bit, reconsidering her earlier anger. He was putting up a good show and all, but surely, deep down, Phantom must be terrified. What was it like to wake up one day with no memories, and to realize that you were different from everyone else? It couldn't have been a good feeling. He really did need to find the Fentons, she thought, and he really did need those answers, almost as much as they needed to find Danny. She didn't really have it in her to reject him, even if Tucker was right, and he did seem a little creepy.

He said that was just in his nature after all, and from what she knew of Ghost Pokemon, that wouldn't surprise her. What exactly was Phantom, anyways? A human who had obtained strange powers, or a Pokemon who had obtained a human form? She was leaning towards the former, if only because Froslass were all female, but then again, she wasn't totally convinced as to what Phantom was packing _down there_.

Realizing where her thoughts were straying to, Sam coughed a little, hiding a faint red flush. "Alright, you can still come with us." She said, giving Tucker's shoulder a squeeze. "As long as you try to be nice to Tucker. I'm sure he didn't _mean _to hit on you, Phantom."

"Yeah, no _trust me_, if I knew you were a dude, I wouldn't have bothered." Tucker lifted his hands. Was he mad about that? Well, he guessed he did have the right to be, being hit on my another dude when you weren't into that did seem like the kind of thing that might broil a guy's blood.

"Alright, I think I can promise that." Phantom said, smiling at them as he landed back on the ground, pulling his hands from his pockets. "Look Tucker, sorry if we got off on the wrong foot, I really didn't mean to scare you. Friends?" He asked, sounding a bit hopeful, offering the other boy his hand.

"...yeah, okay." Tucker said after a moment, taking Phantom's hand and giving it a small shake, blinking in surprise a little. "Wow man, you're like a block of solid ice." He noted, letting out a low whistle. "You okay? Like, health wise?"

"Oh yeah, healthy as a horse!" Phantom grinned. That much was true, for once in his life. Any trace of the health problems that had plagued him for most of his childhood were now gone, leaving him the healthiest he had ever been. If there was any part about this transformation of his that he liked, other than the cool powers, that would be it. It was, after all, what he had always wanted.

Although, he had to admit, it was a bit too heavy of a price for his tastes.

"Well, come on then." Sam sighed, looking between the two boys. "I'd like to get to a good campsite by sundown, like I've said before, since I doubt that we'll make it to Elmer Town before then. And since we stopped for much longer than a five minute break Tucker, you're going to have to put up with walking at least two hours." She said, eying him.

"Aw, c'mon Sam!" Tucker whined. "That's harsh! I think I might actually die!"

"Why don't you just ride on one of your Pokemon if you're bad at walking?" Phantom asked, once again floating off his feet. "Obviously I don't have that problem at all." He said, unable to help but smirk. "Being able to float is seriously convenient." He paused then, shooting a glower towards Aria, who seemed to be saying something. "Yeah, well I don't ever see _you _walk. What are you, my mother?"

"Ooh, that's a good idea!" Tucker grinned, grabbing one of his Pokeballs.

"Well, you better pick someone who can make good speed Tucker, or you can forget about it." Sam said, shooting him a dirty look. "Don't you dare take out that slow as hell Metagross of yours."

"M-metagross?" Phantom asked, paling a little, coming to full attention. "Y-yeah, don't pull out one of those. I am officially rescinding my earlier advice."

"Aw, c'mon, don't be so mean to Ian." Tucker pouted, holding the Pokeball protectively. "They're sensitive, you know." He said. "But fine. I'll save it for later, when my feet are about ready to fall off because _someone _here is the world's harshest taskmaster." He grumbled, shoving the Pokeball back into his bag, managing to miss the small sigh of relief that Phantom let out once it vanished from sight.

"I don't think making you walk what almost any ten year old child can walk merits being called harsh." Sam noted, glancing back at him. "Now are we going to stand around and talk all day, or are we going to get an actual move on? Sunlight's burning, boys."

"I'm coming." Phantom grinned, floating after her, pulling his hood back up and landing on the ground once he had caught back up. "I don't know about Tucker, though."

"I'm coming too, don't leave me behind!" The bespectacled boy whined, hurrying after the both of them, shoving his way in between Phantom and Sam. Somehow he didn't like this guy getting all that close to his friend- besides, he didn't think Danny would like it very much if he heard another guy was hitting on Sam in his absence. He had always suspected, after all, that the two of them had a thing for each other, and that the both of them were just too shy to admit it. He would have to guard Sam's back for him while Danny was out of the picture, and make sure no creeps tried to move in while he couldn't do anything about it.

"So do you just have ghost Pokemon?" Sam asked a few minutes into their walk, glancing over towards Phantom. "Aside from Miss Aria, that is." She said, her gaze flickering towards the Froslass that accompanied him. "I take it you never put her in a Pokeball."

"Nah. Aria's special." Phantom grinned, peering at Sam from behind Tucker. "She's like a foster mom, or she thinks she's like a foster mom to me." He laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess she views me as a baby Froslass or something, which I guess is sort of embarrassing, so I don't even know why I'm telling you that in the first place." He admitted. "But no, as to your first question, I don't just have ghost Pokemon. I've got a Snover and Weavile too."

"Aside from them, there's my Rotom, and my Gengar, and I have a Banette as well." Phantom told them. "Well, getting six Pokeballs was rough going in the first place, so I'm saving my sixth for something special, I guess. I don't know what. Catching Pokemon isn't that hard though, you know, you talk to them for awhile, and they just sort of get to know you and then you ask them if they want to go traveling... that sort of thing. Although, I take it that's not the way most trainers do that."

"Nope." Sam shook her head. "We're all friends with our Pokemon to some degree, and while I would like to think that I understand the feelings of mine, their thoughts are another matter. That must be pretty convenient and rather useful." She admitted. "Even if it is just limited to ice and ghost Pokemon."

"Oh yeah, it really is!" Phantom nodded his head eagerly. "They're all great too, the best of companions! You know when you're on your own, it's always nice to have someone around to talk to."

"Sounds like it." Tucker frowned, chiming in. "Do you really not have, you know, any human friends, Phantom?"

"It's... kind of hard for me to make friends, for some reason." Phantom frowned. "I guess they're freaked out by the all... whatever the hell you could say that I am. They usually can't handle it." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's not that big of a deal though, honestly. I'm fine with just having Aria and everyone else on my team around. Although, I guess I do have to admit, the prospect of having some human company doesn't sound so bad either, so I'm a little happy that you guys picked me up." He admitted, a faint blue color rising to his cheeks.

"No problem." Sam gave him a small smile. "After all, this deal works out for me too. Provided you try not to scare the pants off of Tucker again, that is."

"Yeah, don't scare the pants off of Tucker." The boy himself repeated, shooting Phantom a look, silently telling him that he would be watching him.

"I'll do my best." Phantom said, although somehow, Tucker didn't exactly find that very reassuring.

"_See _Tucker?" Sam said, smiling at him. "Nothing to worry about at all. I'm sure he was only teasing you earlier." She said, already convinced that this was the case. After all, Phantom didn't seem like a bad person to her- confused and conflicted, but who wouldn't be in his situation? Maybe she could take him to see Jazz when they were in Dragsholm City, and maybe she could help him. Surely a Pokemon Psychologist might be able to tell him a thing or two about what was going on in his head, right? She was, after all, Jack and Maddie's other child.

"Yeah, well, if you're _sure_." Tucker grumbled, looking warily over at Phantom. The way the boy's eyes glowed dimly underneath the shadow of his hood didn't exactly put his mind at ease. There was something unnerving as a whole about his presence, and only part of it had to do with the fact that he had no idea what Phantom even _was_. He wasn't dim, so he hadn't missed the physical similarities between Phantom and his Froslass companion- he was connected to them in some way, he imagined.

And why did he kind of feel as if Phantom was lying to them? It didn't seem to be a malevolent lie, strangely enough and yet... it bothered him. Why would Phantom by lying to them? About _what_, exactly? About wanting to find the Fentons? About his memories? About not knowing what he was? There was a brief, chilling thought that occurred to him that Phantom might be the reasons that the Fentons vanished in the first place, and that the reason that he was following them around was to make sure that he and Sam didn't discover anything.

But he didn't think so. At least, he didn't think Phantom was lying when he said he had no idea where the Fentons were. And he couldn't see any reason as to why he would make them vanish- unless of course, they had found out something about him that he didn't want other people to know. Had Sam thought about this? He would have to talk to her about it when he got the chance, when they were alone together later. For someone as prone to deadpan sarcasm as his friend, she could be awfully trusting of other people- he figured that the thought that Phantom might be lying or might not be telling them the whole truth hadn't really even popped into her head.

And yet, oddly enough, he couldn't find it in him to be all that suspicious of the strange trainer. If he had the ability to even challenge gym leaders in the first place, then he must have at the very least been admitted into the League. And then there was this vague feeling he got that Phantom wasn't going to do him any harm, which combated directly with the other part of him who felt very differently about the white haired boy. He felt... familiar, and in a good way too, it was just that Tucker couldn't quite place it.

Maybe Phantom had been someone else before he had become what he was today, and Tucker had known the past him. He couldn't imagine who he could have been, he didn't recall ever meeting anyone quite like Phantom before. He would remember that prank prone personality anywhere, he thought.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Phantom vowed, holding up his hands, looking a bit offended at Tucker's suspicions. Oh come now, they were old friends, it wasn't like he was going to make it his hobby to cause the older boy to flip his lid, as funny as the first time was.

Well okay, that might have been a lie- maybe he would still prank him a little bit. After all, it wasn't a lie that it was in his nature. It was just something that came naturally to him, and after awhile he had stopped even thinking twice about it. He found that in the end, it was much easier to accept any of the changes that had come about as the result of his transformation, than to fight them tooth and nail. After all, deep down he was still the same person, right?

Even if his two best friends in the world couldn't even recognize him. That didn't mean he was any different inside, right?

Sam and Tucker just couldn't recognize him because nobody would have ever anticipated that a human being could become half ghost Pokemon in the first place. That was perfectly normal, he convinced himself. Still, he couldn't deny the fact that this upset him a little, and he was hoping that at the very least, Sam would have known that he was Danny Fenton, and that they could have had a joyous reunion. Sure, he could have just outright told her- he knew things about her that would have proved that he was who he said he was after all- but somehow, that didn't feel right.

He _surely _couldn't do it now, not after lying to them. But even before that, even before the first lie had slipped his lips, he had still been holding on to the hope that she would know who he was, changed as he was. It was all he could do to keep his heart from breaking when a look of no recognition crossed her face when he lowered his hood. And it was that, more than anything, that caused him to make up his mind and keep his lips tightly shut on the matter of his true identity.

He didn't plan to let them find out now. When they found his parents, and made sure that they were safe, that would be it. Phantom would leave, and he hoped that they wouldn't mourn too much over the loss of Danny Fenton. Because for all that Phantom had accepted his own changes, he wasn't so sure that he could ever ask anyone else to- it would be too much, he decided, too much to ask of anyone, even of his own parents.

After all, to be honest, he guessed that Danny Fenton _was _dead. He had died back then- and then he had been reborn as Phantom. That was the only way he could explain what had happened to him, and it was easier to think of it that way as well.

So he would enjoy this time with Sam and Tucker while he could, he would track down and save his parents, and punish the people who captured them and killed Danny- _himself_, he reminded himself. And that would be the end of it. He wasn't sure what he would do then, to be honest, but he was sure he would be able to figure that part out later.

"There, you see Tucker?" Sam's voice broke Phantom's thoughts. "Phantom promised. Now stop being such a stick in the mud, already. And don't drag your feet! We've got a lot of ground to cover, thanks to wasting so much time back there!"

"Uuuugh." Tucker groaned, before glancing over towards Phantom. "Are you sure you want to travel with her, dude? I mean, I wasn't kidding about the harsh taskmaster thing."

"Oh, don't worry." Phantom grinned. "I suspect I can handle her."

He always could, after all.


End file.
